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HomeMy Public PortalAbout02-06-2023 Minutes Tourism Board Regular Meeting 101 E. Orange St., PO Box 429, Hillsborough, NC 27278 www.hillsboroughnc.gov | @HillsboroughGov www.visithillsboroughnc.com | @HillsboroughNC Tourism Board Minutes | 1 of 4 Minutes Hillsborough Tourism Board Remote regular meeting 5:30 p.m. Feb. 6, 2023 Board Meeting Room of Town Hall Annex, 105 E. Corbin St. Present: Chair Matt Hughes and members Barney Caton, Barry Hupp, Megan Kimball, Victoria Pace and Eryk Pruitt Staff: Planning and Economic Development Manager Shannan Campbell 1. Call to order Chair Matt Hughes called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. with six members present. 2. Agenda changes and approval Motion: Member Victoria Pace moved to approve the agenda as presented. Member Barney Caton seconded. Vote: 6-0. 3. Minutes review and approval Nov. 7, 2022 Dec. 5, 2022 Motion: Caton moved to approve the November and December minutes. Pace seconded. Vote: 6-0. 4. Presentations A. Quarterly reports from contract partners 1. Alliance for Historic Hillsborough/Visitors Center Amanda Boyd, the alliance’s executive director, introduced herself. She noted events that took place in the second quarter, which were also covered in the agenda packet. These included the October Spirit Tours, Third Annual Wreath Stroll, Pictures with Santa and historic interpretations and various private group walking tours. Boyd said the spirit tours had drawn a pre-pandemic number of participants. 2. Hillsborough Arts Council Grant report and update (Solstice Lantern Walk and Market) Mollie Thomas, executive director of the council, addressed the board. She noted events that took place in the second quarter, which were covered in the agenda packet. She noted the October Last Fridays event with trick-or-treating drew hundreds of families and that the 20 vendors who participated in Last Fridays art walk evenings last year provided encouraging feedback about the evenings. Tourism Board Minutes | 2 of 4 Thomas noted the Tourism Board had supported the Solstice Lantern Walk and Market with a grant. She reported that 25% of the attendees resided outside of Orange County. Also, the council had provided 50 lantern kits with Spanish instructions to the Fairview neighborhood. Thomas also reported that the River Park Concert, which is now managed by a different group, would take place April 29. 3. Burwell School Historic Site Sharon Ringwalt addressed the board. Ringwalt is chair of the Historic Hillsborough Commission, which operates the historic site. She shared second quarter highlights, which were in the agenda packet. She noted the two part-time staff members were leaving and that it is difficult to operate the site without a full-time site manager. 4. Orange County Historical Museum Catie Atkinson, site manager for the museum, addressed the board. She noted second quarter highlights, which were featured in the agenda packet. She also noted that the museum has been displaying recent donations by the front desk. The museum staff is working on organizing fields trips for third graders for next year. She reviewed events from the quarter, which were included in the packet, including the Chapel Hill Historical Society’s “A History of Hope II” exhibit and other events including “What’s Your Flavor?” and “Treasure Hunters.” 5. Discussion/action items A. Fiscal Year 2020-2021 audit contract modifications and FY21 audit review Planning and Economic Development Manager Shannan Campbell noted that this audit was delayed because the auditing firm was having trouble keeping staff and the town had turnover in the Financial Services Department. She also noted the audit shows there’s more in fund balance than the board’s operating expenses for the year. There were no problems or issues found with the audit. Motion: Caton moved to approve the amended audit contract with Cherry Bekaert. Member Barry Hupp seconded. Vote: 6-0. B. FY22 audit engagement letter (Isley) Budget amendment Campbell explained Isley does the pre-audit work, and she believes the cost is $5,000. A budget amendment from fund balance is needed to process a $2,500 audit payment. Motion: Kimball moved to approve the audit engagement letter and budget amendment. Caton seconded. Vote: 6-0. C. FY24 draft budget Tourism Board Minutes | 3 of 4 Campbell said the budget public hearing will be in June, as usual, and she asked the board to review the draft. The audit fees for next year are projected to be $10,500. Because the Tourism Board has a strong revenue projection and fund balance, Campbell asked if the board wanted to pursue some projects. Before the pandemic, there was interest in installing more kiosks with visitors information like those in front of police station, Gold Park and Mayo Park. Each kiosk costs about $10,000 to build and install. The Visitors Center and Calvin Street greenway were places that had been considered for such a kiosk. Campbell noted the board also could consider adding interpretive signage about the Revolutionary War. The third project she offered for consideration was a kayak rental opportunity. A company has contacted the town with information about sharing the revenue from a kayak rental kiosk. The program would cost the town $9,000 to start and $3,000 each year after that. The kiosk would be located in Kings Highway Park near the kayak launch. Board members expressed interest in these projects. D. FY24 draft grant schedule Campbell reviewed that the grant cycle is beginning and the board would score the applications. The budget will be adopted June 5. E. 2023 VisitNC365 Conference Attendance Possible budget amendment Hughes is registered to go. Hupp and Caton expressed interest. Motion: Caton moved to do a budget amendment from fund balance for $2,600 to pay for Hupp and Caton attending the conference. Pace seconded. Vote: 6-0. 6. Monthly reports and comments A. Tourism staff report and Visitors Center and Orange County Visitors Bureau updates No additional report. B. Board comments and updates Campbell will share food and beverage tax reports when she gets them from finance. 7. Adjournment Motion: Hughes adjourned the meeting at 7 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Shannan Campbell Economic Development Planner Tourism Board Minutes | 4 of 4 Staff support to the Hillsborough Tourism Board Approved: April 3, 2023